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communication management and strategic communications

Types of Degrees communication management and strategic communications Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing communication management and strategic communications can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Associate’s Degree	317
Bachelor’s Degree	1,172
Master’s Degree	455
Doctor’s Degree	12

What communication management and strategic communications Majors Need to Know

Coursework for communication management and strategic communications develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that communication management and strategic communications graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing communication management and strategic communications emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Administration and Management — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Sales and Marketing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a communication management and strategic communications program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Persuasion — Importance 4 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to communication management and strategic communications careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, communication management and strategic communications graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.4 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.4 / 7
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.2 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.1 / 7
Processing Information	4.0 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	3.9 / 7
Developing Objectives and Strategies	3.9 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	3.8 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by communication management and strategic communications professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Drupal	Web platform development software	—
MightyScout	Sales and marketing software	—
MicroFocus GroupWise	Electronic mail software	—
Fund accounting software	Accounting software	—
WeVideo	Video creation and editing software	—
Mentimeter	Presentation software	—
Project management software	Project management software	✓
Salesforce software	Customer relationship management CRM software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Social media sites	Web page creation and editing software	—
Oracle PeopleSoft Financials	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
zkipster	Project management software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for communication management and strategic communications graduates include:

• Development Director
• Campaign Manager
• Community Manager
• Grants Management Specialist
• Fundraising Events Manager
• Program Manager
• Funds Development Director
• Account Supervisor
• Annual Giving Director
• Fundraising and Marketing Director
• Advancement Director
• Fundraising Director
• Donor Engagement Director
• Individual Giving Director
• Fundraising Manager

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to communication management and strategic communications graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	65.5%
Some college courses	19.6%
Master’s degree	10.9%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	3.9%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in communication management and strategic communications?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 79.4% of communication management and strategic communications degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,554	79.4%
Men	402	20.6%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of communication management and strategic communications graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,273	65.1%
Asian	79	4.0%
Hispanic or Latino	236	12.1%
Black or African American	214	10.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native	4	0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	3	0.2%
Two or More Races	72	3.7%
Race Unknown	23	1.2%
International Students	52	2.7%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do communication management and strategic communications Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of communication management and strategic communications graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$43,317
4 years	$55,248
5 years	$64,495

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $64,495 — roughly 49% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online communication management and strategic communications Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for communication management and strategic communications. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	1	1
Bachelor’s	4	2
Master’s	15	3

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in communication management and strategic communications Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, communication management and strategic communications graduates earn a median of $55,248 four years after completion — roughly 45% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Speech Communication and Rhetoric	32,944
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	19,636
Communication, General	11,299
Mass Communication/Media Studies	8,694
Advertising	4,308
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication	4,077
Public Relations/Image Management	4,061
Organizational Communication, General	1,789
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication, Other	1,296
Sports Communication	1,202
Health Communication	362
Political Communication	211

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.